Business Technology

Listen to higher ed futurists and you'll be convinced that business intelligence is the wave of the future. It is the next "it" thing that will connect every part of the enterprise. Best yet, BI will link all data, allowing disparate software programs, provided by numerous and sometimes-competing vendors, to "talk" to each other.

JUST THREE YEARS AGO A group of higher education's IT people and financial managers teamed up to take on a new project. Their mission: To develop open source financial management software that could keep a general ledger, run payroll, or perform any other basic financial function.

THERE'S A NEW TYPE OF workspace these days. It's a "virtual office" in cyberspace that allows files to be accessed and worked on from anywhere. The concept has morphed into education, allowing students in disparate locations to work together. The innovation fits well with new trends in learning.

REMEMBER THE BULKY day planner? The mini-black notebook was derigeur for the business executive of the 1980s. The portable planners were stuffed with addresses, agendas, day planners, and to-do lists. Today these applications, and many more, are now online, thanks to calendaring software.

Having the right web address means everything when running a website. A URL-that string of characters following the http://-should be easy to remember, or at least easy to guess at. In the world of higher ed, prospects, students, alumni, and other online visitors simply want to type in a school name, follow it with a .edu, and splash onto a desired homepage.

The internet and e-mail are a blessing and curse. Both improve communication and access to information; they are the de facto communication and entertainment tools of modern life.

College campuses are often a mix of architectural styles: ivy-covered brick buildings, modern constructions with interiors bathed in natural light, enormous outdoor multiuse facilities. Whatever its style, a building's design and upkeep requires resources of time and money.

Today's facilities directors can't maintain, renovate, or build their campuses anew without help from specialized software systems.